Another CMJ Music Marathon—the 35^th iteration of the yearly music discovery festival that takes over most of New York City’s venues for a week each October—has come and passed. We spent five nights this past week in the Lower East Side, East Village and Williamsburg rock clubs to find the best rising acts. (When there's over 1000 musical groups playing, including groups of all genres from both the states and abroad, that's not an easy task.)

Regardless, eight groups—from an Australian R&B singer and a political punk group to a '80s-influenced synth pop group—stood out. And three came from Down Under, so you might want to put the Aussie music scene on your radar. Without further ado, here are the top 8 bands we saw at CMJ. 

NGAIIRE

This Sydney-via-Papa-New-Guinea-based singer has the sort of pure voice that could give Beyonce or Janelle Monae a run for their money. Her tracks—like the fierce "Dirty Hercules" and rich "Once"—mix shades of pop, electronica and funk with catchy songwriting, but it's her powerful vocals and live performance that make her an act to watch. She's about to release her second record, the follow up to 2013's Lamentations in the coming months, and needless to say, we're excited.

PALEHOUND

Angle-y, piercing guitars and introspective lyrics define this Boston-based band. Led by 21-year-old Ellen Kempner, we caught Palehound cutting through a 30-minute set complete with 2013 breakout track "Pet Carrot" (featuring pointed lyrics like "My heart's a beginner / True love was a sinner") and much of the band's 2015 debut record Dry Food. While comparisons to Pavement (and, more recently, fellow Boston friends Speedy Ortiz) certainly aren't far off, cryptic-yet-emotive songs make them unique.

DOWNTOWN BOYS

Anyone who thinks in-your-face activist punk is a thing of yore hasn't seen Downtown Boys. The six-piece from Providence, RI describe themselves as a “bilingual political sax punk party" and honestly, it would be difficult to better sum them up. Victoria Ruiz leads the pack, introducing each song's themes—diatribes against police brutality, white privilege and societal norms—before launching into fiery, pulsating, horn-laden cuts. Ruiz wanted to start a revolution Wednesday night at Santos Party House, and much of the packed crowd probably wanted to join. 

SHOPPING

Seeing this East London-based three-piece post punk group live keeps you on edge. The '70s art rock-influenced Shopping is more than the sum of its parts: minimal yet explosive, straightforward yet captivating, and overtly anti-capitalist. Punchy guitars make it upbeat and drummer Andrew Milk's background monotone lyrics pull it all together. And front woman Rachel Aggs was disappointed when the late night CMJ crowd didn't dance. "I don't know what to make of this," Aggs commented partway through the set. "Actually, if we were in the UK, everyone would be much more drunk."

MICHAEL RAULT

Michael Rault makes retro psychedelia up there with the best. That conclusion quickly became clear when we heard his final set of CMJ on Saturday night at Lower East Side stalwart venue Pianos. Rault, a Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, has largely flown under the radar (but has actually been producing records since 2006). With a record this year on LA garage indie Burger Records, he and his talented band finally hit our radar. With gems like the rollicking "Suckcess" and the hazy "Real Love (Yeah)," we hope his seven shows last week will help launch him to wider success. 

WILDHONEY

This Baltimore-based five-piece is best described as expansive. Whether they're labeled as shoegaze, dream pop or indie pop, they've certainly got a likeness to the nearly palpable sound of noisy '90s bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. We caught them tearing through a short set at Cake Shop's basement—probably the homiest, longstanding legit-but-DIY-leaning venue in Manhattan—and we're not sure there’s a better venue to be pummeled by their full, nostalgia-inducing sound in. 

THE HARPOONS

Bec Rigby's delicate, soulful voice combine with well-coiled percussion and harmonies from Martin King to make this group of musicians an Australian R&B group to be reckoned with. Multi-instrumentalist brothers Henry and Jack Madin round out the group with marimba, synths and guitars to push their take on 21st century pop. When we caught the Melbourne-based The Harpoons live in a packed room, it was easy to focus on Rigby's sensual singing and dancing but doing that diminishes the intricate melodies from her talented band. 

CLIENT LIAISON

We heard murmurings of this '80s-influenced Australian synth pop group all week. Regardless, we were still surprised at the dance party the duo sparked during their set late Saturday night at Australia's annual daylong CMJ showcase called The Aussie BBQ. Pretty man Monte Morgan's smooth vocals and energizing personality paved the way for the Michael Jackson-inspired tunes. And cuts like "Feed the Rhythm" and "Pretty Lovers" are the sort of radio-ready jams that could give them a bigger dance party the next time they come to New York.